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Rob and I have been looking at the various kinds of NoSQL databases and looking at the differences between them. We've distilled this into four main types. Key/Value, Column oriented, Document centric and Graph databases.

As a result of this analysis we have just published a paper universalNoSQL.pdf which shows how Globals can be used to model each of these types of database.

Not only can you get all the characteristics of each of the NoSQL database types, but with Globals you get this in a mature package with comparable performance and some extra goodies, like transaction procession, thrown in for good measure. Read this paper universalNoSQL.pdf to find out more about this.

FOSDEM is a large Free and Open Source Developers' conference. This year it was at the Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB) and was attended by about 5,000 developers.

One of the tracks was NoSQL which embraces all of the Non-SQL databases that have emerged in the last couple of years. It appears to have been one of the most popular topics at the conference with standing room only for many of the presentations.

Rob Tweed and I both gave talks about some of the things we've been doing with GT.M. Rob talked about M/DB and M/DB:X while I talked about the XAPI service that GT.M provides for OpenStreetMap.

Judging from the questions at the end of my talk, I was impressed that at least some people in the room actually understood the most technical part of my talk. Geospatial indexing and the benefit that key compression in globals gives in this context.

Here's selection of discussion lists that you might want to join. You may or may not already know about them, but they contain active discussion of topics close to the hearts of us Slipstream aficionadi:

Due to weak demand we have regrettably decided to cancel the Denbies 2009 Out of the Slipstream conference.

All those who have registered will be notified in due course and will receive a full refund of their conference fee.

The Slipstream Workshop will still be held but will now be on Thursday 2nd July rather than Friday 3rd July. The venue is unchanged, George James Software's offices in Shepperton. There is no charge for this event and anyone who signed up for the Slipstream conference may like to come to the Slipstream Workshop instead.